Ronen Bar's indictment leaves no room for doubt: the emperor has no clothes

The indictment filed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar reveals a harsh picture of decision-making on the eve of October 7. The article argues that responsibility lies not only with Prime Minister Netanyahu but with a web of commanders in the IDF, Shin Bet, and intelligence community. The author notes that Bar is correct in his claim that he should not have known about the Nova party, but raises weighty questions regarding the rejection of his request for a preventive move days before the attack.

The indictment filed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar reveals a harsh picture of the relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the security establishment on the eve of October 7, 2023. The article argues that responsibility does not stop at the Prime Minister's Office but extends across a long line of commanders and heads of systems. The author, Avi Ashkenazi, notes that Bar is correct in his claim that neither he nor the Shin Bet should have known about the Nova party, and that this is the responsibility of the division and brigade commanders. However, the article raises weighty questions about the rejection of Bar's request for a preventive move days before the attack, and in particular about an "unusual message from the enemy" that arrived in September 2023. The author compares the political and security reality to the fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes," and determines that the emperor (the leadership) was simply naked.